Cell SERVICE for Seniors

[Joe Bob]

With family getting larger due to divorce then remarriage and other issues.....having a Mom or Dad on the plan is no longer feasible since the cell providers limit discounts and shared plans stop at 5 phones.

Does anyone know of a provider that has discounted plans for seniors that give unlimited minutes and texting for under $30 a month? I'm trying to get Momz (shut up Sid) and her hubby off my plan and be able to keep myself and kids happy AND have her shut down her land-line.

She's 75 if it matters.

[pwd72s]

Trac phone is what I bought. I just buy $100 worth of minutes annually. But we only take it along when we're out of town for making calls. Not into texting. But, you might check out their website, see if it's workable for you. I like to call it my $8.33 per month plan...no contract. I can toss the phone any time.

Used to be on a similar pre paid plan with T mobil, but they doubled the minutes cost, so when it's expiration date came, the phone went into the trash.

[Hugh R]

I think AARP has some decent plans.

[stomachmonkey]

Straight Talk will get you 1,000 minutes plus 1,000 texts for $30 per month. Unlimited is $45.

Bring your own phone and number if you've already got em.

Go see Walmart.

[mb911]

Really they can use a phone you already have? for $45 unlimited thats awesome. I may do that

[Joe Bob]

SM....thanks. Does it matter if it's a SIM or an old school cell?

[stomachmonkey]

Originally Posted by mb911

Really they can use a phone you already have? for $45 unlimited thats awesome. I may do that

Welcome | Straight Talk

They say T-Mobile compatible but really any GSM which would include ATT but exclude Verizon.

[stomachmonkey]

Originally Posted by Joe Bob

SM....thanks. Does it matter if it's a SIM or an old school cell?

GSM, so think SIM.

But you can still find GSM old school style phones.

I have a couple if'n you need.

Plain old candy bar with normal key. Basic phones.

[spuggy]

Originally Posted by mb911

Really they can use a phone you already have? for $45 unlimited thats awesome. I may do that

It's not *really* unlimited. Apparently. I've never hit the limit (apparently 2G per month) - but I read a review written by some guy who flogged his iDevice with it until they throttled him.

This sort of lying is unfortunately practised by almost all the telcos (IIRC, Sprint is an exception, or was a few years ago). ComCast apparently even sent a warning letter to an old lady who voted 70 times in one hour on "American Idol with her "unlimited voice service". No idea how they get away with it.

I don't use anything like 2G per month mobile data - even with GPS/Navigation and streaming music over Google Play, so don't much care either

Straight Talk also threaten that they will toss you if you tether anything through the phone - like a laptop or a tablet - but I did precisely that when I got bored during a cable down incident that took out power/internet, and they never noticed. Probably highly dependent on how much data you use.

Straight Talk simply re-sell either AT&T or T-Mobile service - for cheaper than you can buy it from the carrier themselves (I transferred my T-Mobile # to Google Voice, and use Straight Talk as the service on the back end now).

If your phone will deal with either AT*T or T-Mobile service (not all - and especially older - GSM phones will have all the frequencies in the radio chipsets to do the highest-speed data on either, so check - otherwise smart phones might be limited to GPRS speeds instead of EDGE or HSPDA+), the only difference is the APN's you set the phone up to use.

Notably, both of the last two Google phones (Samsung Galaxy Nexus and the LG Nexus 4, which are almost identical in specification - and both getting OTA Jelly Bean updates) are both carrier-unlocked out of the box, and both have the radio chipsets to run full-speed mobile data on either AT&T or T-Mobile networks (they only build one model - older phones had separate models depending on chipset/data carrier). Those things are a steal @ $350 - unlocked, no contract, no subsidy. They can't build them fast enough.

This also presumes that your phone is not carrier-locked (if you need to switch networks, e.g. for coverage reasons); almost all carrier-supplied phones discounted with a contract are carrier-locked- and it's now a felony (since January) to unlock these yourself, according to the Supreme Court. T-Mobile have always given out the unlock code if your account was in good standing for 3 months or more. AT&T used to refuse - but apparently will do it now. (keying in a carrier-supplied Service Provider unlock code is not a felony, semi-obviously). Contract cancellation penalties/charges may also apply..


You can also buy 6 months Straight Talk service in advance for $255. I just bought another 6 months service today, oddly enough.

Straight Talk also have Sprint/Verizon plans (under another name). One of those (forget which one) you can BYOD (Bring Your Own Device). But not the other. Wal-Mart sells the phones/plans too.

[red-beard]

Originally Posted by Joe Bob

With family getting larger due to divorce then remarriage

It seems like we missed something important. You're getting remarried?

[genrex]

No freakin' way!!! Joe Bob getting remarried???

Maybe she tied him up and forced him to sign...

_

[Joe Bob]

No.....talking about my brother....he now has four kids and a new wife. He seems to be happy...poor bastard.

I'd eat my gun before I do it again.